OI POLLOI is one of those bands we all love and that has quite a
legacy and catalog of work. They are certainly one of the hardest
working bands ever, especially from the anarcho-punk scene. It’s
nothing shy of amazing that they have continued to release quality
material for a couple of decades now. If there is a such thing as punk
rock “hits” they have enough to fill a couple ‘best of” collections.
They certainly have enough punk rock party sing-a-longs! In fact it is
almost impossible not sing along with a smile on your face anytime the
needle hits an OI POLLOI record. They are one of those bands that makes
fighting the system so much fun! It is only fitting then that we
finally get a video documentation of this highly influential and
important band.

The main movie features numerous and informative interviews with the
revolving cast of band members and only constant member, Deek. The long
lingering question of how the band was named and what the name means is
answered and documented once and for all. It was really cool to hear
Deek, in his voice and in his person describe the formation of the band
and it was very interesting to learn that they came together as a
counter reaction to many of the more “hardcore” bands of the day that
were starting to grind out a new direction for punk (ENT, Napalm
Death…).

The second half of the movie follows our favorite
“post-oi/street-crust” band on ‘Ar Ceol, Ar Canan, Ar-a-march’ European
tour in 2006. It’s hear that we get a look into the recording of the
only Gaelic speaking punk album ever as well as the stress of a DIY
tour. They explain how touring Europe is different and more realistic
for them than a US trek mainly due to the distances traveled but also
due to the violence not just at US gigs but more so in US society. This
is explained as they elaborate on stay at a house on a past US tour
riddled with bullet holes from local gang gunfire. That’s not to say
that touring Europe is comfy nights in beds of roses. There are ample
stories of squats smeared in animal and human feces and urine and the
difficulty of trying to get a nights sleep when the locals want nothing
but to party all night at punk rock discos! We also get to experience
the stress of swapping out bass players mid tour and having to learn the
songs in the van between gigs. Ahhh…the life of “rock stars”.

There are certain bands that seem to evoke a sense of spirituality, a
connection or a sense of being. For me those bands are limited but
mainly include NEUROSIS, AMEBIX, MISERY, JUDAS PRIEST and most of all
BLACK SABBATH. Watching this movie and getting this intimate glimpse
into the world, lives and inner workings of this phenomenal band I
really started to identify with a connection to the energy of OI
POLLOI. It was easy to see this spiritual energy that surrounded the
members of the band and I felt very lucky to be able to tap into a small
piece of that. My feelings are apparently shared by some of the
members of the band as one of the former members described a similar
sense and even compared being part of the “family” to religious
experience.

The DVD is littered extras that include the 1994 tour documentary (I
got to see that on VHS years ago thanks to my buddy Val) as well as live
clips and videos. At this point it’s almost not even necessary to
impress upon you that this is a quality release and an important
addition to your collection. If you are an OI POLLOI fan there is no
excuse not to get this into your hands. (Josh Mosh)